My 1,58692 € cents

I think we are seeing two different perspectives; that of Soldier and that of Parent. They are both partially correct. Here is my perspective (that of Friend/Voter/Potential Draftdodger). We do have a volunteer army (although this is a loose term, because not everyone can volunteer, and those who can aren't allowed to do many of the jobs unless they have that most important of all military equipment: a Penis... sorry, it's a sore spot right now. The issue, not my... you know what I mean). All american soldiers who die defending other's right to life and freedom die tragically but not wastefully. I think that as long as we fight "wars" (we usually don't actually declare war) of revenge and profit and don't answer to international courts it is hard for me to ascribe such high ideals to the american war machine (I don't mean this as a derogatory term, but I want to include more than the military itself, but also mercenaries, arms companies and politicians). According to the american government, burning oil is a human rights violation, but not torturing someone to death or killing children are not. There is something wrong with that. (sidenote: it is also against international law to kill anyone who makes or ratifies international laws). I think that our soldiers are made up of the same spectrum of people as the rest of the world. There are good eggs and bad eggs, sharp tacks and dull tacks. In the end I would say that the sacrifice is not a waste if the individual person was fighting for the rest of us. If a soldier dies in an unjust war while trying his or her best to help those involved it is not a waste, and if a soldier dies fighting for the wrong reasons in a just war then it is a waste. Dieing for hate or profit is a waste. Not because of some higher moral reason or a sense of right and wrong, but because you can't hate or profit after you are dead, while a life sacrificed for the good of others is outlived by that good.

Good sports.

I haven't been updating my blog very much lately, although I guess you all know that. I wanted to first say something about the soldier from Minnesota who died. He is one of the few opponents that I do remember. I wrestled against him once, and the match was very important for me. He was a nice guy, and a good sport.

My mother also told me that, because of the cuts in her school a teacher that I worked with is lossing her position. Any system that allows this woman to lose her job needs to be revamped. She is a great teacher, and it will be a hard blow to their school to lose her. I have admired her since the day I first stepped into her classroom- She is a role model not only to her students, but to her cooworkers as well. She is energetic and creative, and I am sad to see her go.

This weekend I went to the Hertha (pronounceced Hair-tah) game. The are in the national soccer league and were trying to get into the Champions League (the world's most prestigous league). There is a complicated system of points for wins and ties, but it came down to winning the last game. They tied. It was dissapointing, but they did qualify for the European international league (the UEFA CUP). I am strating to get swamped with homework and stuff, now that there is only about 8 weeks of school left. No fun ideas this time, I am pooped. Instead you get to look at video game trailers that just came out at E3 last week.

Peacefare

The U.S. spends a lot of money on it's military. Last year we spent roughly the same amount of money on our military as the rest of the world combined (466 billion vs. 500 billion). Don't forget that if we had spent no money (except wages, fuel and repairs) we would still be the most advanced and world encompassing military in the world. Many people want to take some of that money and put it into other programs: schools, social security, etc. I think that we need to at least try a WWJD program. I am no big follower of Jesus, but most of the people in the armed forces are. They are willing to fight and kill and sacrifice their lives for the good of others. I respect and admire that, but I wonder how that can be ok with them on a religious level. If you believe in heave and a higher justice, than I would imagine that you would be happy to turn the other cheek to those who attack you: I mean, you are going to go to heaven anyway, and that would be for eternity not just the few years we live here on earth...

I digress. Couldn't some of that money be used to just overwhelm nations with food and infrastructure improvements? I am not saying you wouldn't need soldiers to protect those assets. Many food programs were manipulated by warlords in Africa and southeast Asia. Don't just drop the food in and leave. Don't try to do it all at once. Pick a country with a coast that needs help and will, if unaided, eventually require military attention (eg. Somalia/Ethiopia; 15 years ago). Start with a beachhead and work outwards. I feel like it would be hard for any nation to get rid of american soldiers who have a well prepared base. Then feed the people. Expand slowly outwards. I am not saying do it as pacifists. Bring all the guns and whatever (I am not a soldier). Shoot people that shoot you. But start by feeding and helping. No ultimatums. No favorites. That has got to be less expensive. Sally Struthers can feed people for the cost of a cup of coffee. It isn't even Starbuck's coffee. We could cut spending by over 75% and still be the highest priced army in the world.

I see that our military has more responsibilities than any other on earth, and is also held to a higher standard (except in courts, which is a whole other rant). They need a lot of money. Fine, but the best way to save on the newest version of fighter jet is not having to build it because the people you were going to survey or kill are all at their homes EATING. Many wars are Religious and/or cultural, but many are just about water or space or food or money. Those could be stopped. It is time for America to stop responding to violence with violence. It is time to put our cheek where our mouth is.

On a side note. I am reading a book of great speches, and there is a guy who is talking about the war in Ireland at the turn of the century. He said something that I found really moving. He said that graves are war's fuel.

Don Quixote

I have a hard time understanding why there aren't set amounts of natural energy that we need to collect every year. There should be goals set, and timetables made to integrate natural energy, especially wind power, into the American infrastructure. Wind power has no waste products, and has been made very affordable through advances in the technology that runs the collectors. Their is of course the added expense of building the collectors, but I have an idea: stop subsidizing farmers who grow soybeans, lease their land and build them there. Of course you won't be actually making any more money, but you won't be paying for something that we don't use just because it would be great if we DID use it. It is an investment in our future, blah, blah, blah... but it just makes sense. I also think that we need to stop hoping that businesses will do the right thing as far as energy politics goes, and instead give them real monetary incentives. I am not saying we give them any money, but that we show them that money can be made while "being green". And here is what I propose: No lobbying, no advertisements. High-profile project transparency. Greenpeace, or "Save the Whales" or whatever (maybe a conglomerate) saves their money (by not advertising) and buys a block of New York real estate. Then you let every Rainbow, Moonbeam and Shitazoo (I assume that hippie-dippie environmentalists engineers aren't named Tom, Dick and Harry) give you ideas on what to do, to build an environmentally sound building.

Insert example: There is a guy who has a plan to cut lighting cost and energy needs. He replaced light bulbs with fiber optic cable that has one end pointing at the sun. He coupled this with a rechargeable battery and a solar panel. So when the sun is shining, you get your light pumped into your room by flipping a switch that connects the strips of cable hanging from your ceiling with the central line that points at the sun. When it is dark or cloudy you get it from the stored light from the panel. This saves money. Energy costs are cut, and after installation there are a lot fewer repairs than in a normal building. This is the kind of stuff I am talking about.

So you build this, we'll say office building, fill it from top to bottom with this stuff and then rent it out, use it yourself or maybe even invite the government to use it as a town hall. Whatever. The important thing is you post all costs on a website. Energy, money and materials going in and out should be noted and posted. Let that do the talking.

The point is that you can't get everyone at once. We are wasting too much energy trying to make the herd turn, when all we need to do is start focusing in on one individual at a time. It won't take long until more and more people want a building that runs as cheap as yours. The same can be done for household budgets: just show people how much money real people are saving with your new brand of hybrid cars. Lead by example.

Matt made me think about something: you should all use this as a space for your ideas. That way we all have people to bounce off of. I will still be posting other stuff, so I am going to stay the soul administrator, but I invite you to use the comments as freely as you want. I get notified of ever post, so if you write in an older entry I will still notice. As a suggestion I think it would be good to stick to the theme of the original idea, but feel free to suggest new topics for a new entry.

Didn't take long

Well, I am already eating my words. Howard Dean sent out a DNC poll asking who people would vote for as a presidential nominee in 2008 and didn't even put his name on it. It looks like Clinton. I am happy on the one hand, because it is time for a change, but I am also apprehensive. I do not want to see kerry or edwards back (no, my shift key is not broken). If they are on the ticket I will vote 3rd party, if only because even nominating them would show such a high level of incompetence on behalf of the party that I don't think I could vote for a democrat with a good conscience. It kind of makes me think that we didn't really deserve to win last time. I was as upset as anyone about W. winning again, but aren't we democrats the ones to blame? we saw where the hot spots were going to be, and we didn't do enough in Missouri and Ohio. I know my mom would foam at the mouth if I didn't mention that there are serious claims of voter fraud in Ohio, but it shouldn't have even come to that. Anyway, I also wanted to announce that there is going to be a little change of direction here. About half of the stuff I write in here is about my life or current events, and then the other half is just Ideas and misc. internet stuff. I just finished reading a book that was made by compiling the word prossessing documents on Douglas Adams' Mac, and it made me think. Maybe more of us should leave a record of our good ideas or musings. A lot of good ideas come from normal people. We just need to make sure they get recorded and shared. So, that said, I am going to be writing my ideas here (hopefully about one a day) until I get back to the States and have a computer of my own.

London, Baby!

I just thought I would write on mz blog while I am in London for the weekend. I saw big ben, 10 Downing Street, Westminster Abbey, the Peter Pan Statute, The Globe theater (I saw a great rendition of the tempest with only three actors playing all the parts), and a lot of other stuff. I like the city, but it isn't worth how much it costs in my opinion. Go once for a few days, but not much longer.

HBTYHBTYHBDMHBTY

Here is my virtual gift for Matt. If I was a better friend, I would have gotten it in time for his b-day, but I didn't.

Whoopie-cushionology

The Linguistics of Humor! That is what I am going to focus my studies on. I don't know when I can get started on it at Penn State, but lately I keep thinking how I never take any risks. I am pretty much staying on a path that is socially accepted. I am a part of a huge educational system. I would be lying if I said that I didn't want to give it all up and try to intern on a movie set, or try stand-up, but I am too lazy and to afraid. The other problem I am having is that I don't seem to care about the stuff I learn in class. I want to learn Spanish and Latin, but I just don't feel a spark inside me. I think the way I can compromise with the two forces that tear at me is to finally study the stuff that I like doing. I like creating funny stuff. Penn State doesn't have anyone that specializes in Humor, but there are people out there who study it, and there is a lot of literature on it, so I am excited. Right now it is still just a thought, but I am excited about it.

P.S. May 3rd is Matt's B-Day!!!
P.P.S. There is no such thing as the youth vote. I used to believe in it, but I have been burned too many times.
P.P.P.S. Voting should be done on a Wednesday, made a holiday, uniform in all states, and we should make a 'not voting tax'. All elections should be popular vote. The presidential debate committee should be funded and run by a bipartisan group (Canadian?) and entrance should be allowed to any candidate that is the nominee from party represented in the house or senate. Campaign funds should not be considered free speech, and should be publicised with names attached to every dollar... minimum number of debates.... mumble, rumble.... recount..... murmle.... transparancy.... money... voting record.... Nader... protest... and then... grumblecakes... alan alda...